Yurino Oshima
Actor / Designer
Lives and works in Vienna. Actor and designer based in Europe and Japan.
His motto is "FAITH, HOPE, AND LOVE.
As a Christian, I write about the world from a faith perspective.
Appearances: British film "OSAKA" (lead role), Greek film "PERSEPHONE", CF "Philips Sonicare", etc.
6.10.2023
DAYS / Yurino Oshima Column
Guided Journey
The London Film Shooting and Where It's Happening Now
here are times when things suddenly start to move in the right direction after a long period of stagnation.
This past spring, just before I temporarily returned to Japan to seek my "future direction," I found an opening for a Japanese lead actor for a movie to be shot in London.
While I was still leaning toward resuming my acting career, such an offer was extremely rare in Europe.
I was strongly attracted by the content of the film and decided to participate in this audition.
An independent film by Hank Orion, "OSAKA" - A woman named "Osaka" moves to London by herself because she is conflicted about her way of life in Japan, but she has more difficulties than she expected and cannot find a way out.
This work describes her daily search for a way of thinking.
I want to play this emotional agility," she said. "I spent my entire second half of my twenties in a foreign country, and now that I have finally begun to regain the freedom to challenge myself (in terms of family balance) and regain my own identity, I want to play this emotional agility. Or rather, almost recreate it." And he conveyed this during the casting communication.
I shot the scene at home and sent it to him, and he responded, "That's exactly what I imagined for OSAKA. I was thrilled to receive a cheeky "I knew it! I was thrilled.
But there was no relief at this point.
It is not unusual for cross-border selection and preliminary meetings to take place only online, with the first meeting with the team taking place on the day of the shoot.
This was the case this time.
It is of course a risk for both parties, and even with careful research and preparation, it is like a final gamble.
When you are from a different country or race with a different culture and culture, there is an even greater sense of tension.
It had been 10 years since I had been to London.
When he was 21 years old, he participated in a budget bus tour of 14 European cities that started and ended in London.
It was the time when I was telling everyone I met about my ambition to "someday travel around to different countries and act in films." I told everyone I met about my ambition.
This was the first time I took the long, long subway from Heathrow Airport to the center of the city.
Although I always try to act early in spite of my poor sense of direction, the bus to the meeting place for the pre-shooting meeting was delayed.
The bus was running late, so I called a rideshare service, Bolt, to take me to the location before the time was up.
The director, Hank, was born in Ukraine, lived in London via Italy and Los Angeles, and has a Japanese fiancée.
His assistant Jessica, a Hong Kong native who grew up in London, said, "I was impressed by the fact that the project was mainly Asian, so I joined. She said, "I was impressed by the fact that the project was mainly Asian, and I joined it.
London is huge.
In fact, Tokyo is bigger than London, and the 23 wards of London are twice the size of central London.
For the filming, the team traveled to more than 20 locations in London, including major spots such as Tower Bridge and the Rose Market, which were crowded with people.
The schedule was tight, with only three or four reshoots. The director, Hank, wanted no on-the-spot checks, and due to the format of the film, all sound was voiced over afterwards.
The crew was very helpful in guiding us around the city during our travels and breaks, and we were able to cover many of the major spots in London in a short period of time.
We also chatted about the state of the film industry in Europe and personal updates, and it was a very peaceful and pleasant working environment from start to finish.
Their friendliness and non-intrusive attitude saved me a lot of time.
They told me, "Always seek the good in each other and in everyone else. Always be happy. Pray constantly. Be thankful in all things." - 1 Thessalonians 5:15-18
On my off day, for the first time in 7 years, I got to see my friend Meg Igarashi, mainly because she is also a film director.
Walking through the beautiful Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew Gardens, a little outside the center of the city, we alternately sat and ran in a baptism of sunshine and rain... What the passing time had changed and what it had not changed emerged.
Her positivity and loving nature is evident in her work, and it is invigorating.Good friends are not necessarily limited to the amount of time spent together or the frequency of contact, but can encourage each other in an inspiring way when the time is right.
I feel that I am being kept alive by such bonds.
After returning to Vienna, I spent a month working hard on voice-over recordings, etc., as I write this series of articles.
Even though I am still technically a chick, I have much more time to feel fulfilled and happy since resuming my acting and writing activities.
I've been told, "You're good at what you do, but you should also cherish what you love because it was given to you." As an adult, it's hard to get people to say that to you.
So, I will say it to myself. I believe that I will be able to embody the phrase, "Love is the best thing that ever happened to you. I believe that I will be able to embody this philosophy.
Have fun and be healthy.
6.10.2023
DAYS / Yurino Oshima Column
Guided Journey
Temporary return and retry of mission search
For the first time in six years, I was in Tokyo by myself for over a month.
My life in Europe has been longer than originally planned.
Originally, I had planned to return to Japan within five years, so when that time passed, the strings that had been tightening around my heart snapped.
I felt like a coward, and I felt like I was blocked in every direction, and I didn't feel like living.
In Vienna, where I live now, I have escaped from the life in which I was trapped by the Corona disaster, and as a designer, I participate in Gottkennen, a project in which I can work with a sense of mission from season to season.
I have made friends for casual tea, started a Japanese bible study with my neighbors, and am blessed with good friends from all walks of life.
I love Austria because it is beautiful in every corner of it, and in addition to that, I have been able to go on holidays to neighboring countries for a change of pace, etc. At first glance, I thought I was living a fulfilling life.
But what was it that was making my heart so cramped?
It was the result of an accumulation of many things that cannot be described in a few words, but the root of it all was definitely "not being able to live my life to its fullest potential. That is to say, I was feeling that I was not using the qualities, time, and energy that I had been given. I felt that I was not living at my full potential.
And the place to which he wanted to and should devote his energy was, as he had always wanted, "mainly in my home country, Japan. "As a Japanese person." I had an intuition that this was the place where I should pour my energy.
～I wanted to know the current situation in Japan, especially in Tokyo, by going back to my home country for a longer period of time.
I wanted to know what I could do "with passion and joy.
And I want to do that even before I go back to Japan, and even during my repeated temporary visits back home.
I want to be more connected to my beloved home country! ～I want to be more connected to my beloved country!
But there was a problem.
The salary for a month-and-a-half design project, which I had decided to use to fund my trip, has been overdue for a long time.
In Tokyo, even capsule hotels had skyrocketed in price to over 5,000 yen per night for lodging, so I couldn't very well go without it.
But he said, "I want to go at this time; I want to attend the Easter celebration at my mother church on April 9. I want to see this person and that person. I also want to see the cherry blossoms."
"Is such a wish merely selfishness?"
"But I have persevered for so long with so many things, and now it's finally about to happen...too much."
I really want to go to Japan," she said, praying to God and asking for help from others through her Instagram story.
I really want to go to Japan. I only have this much money, but do you know a place in the Tokyo metropolitan area where I can stay for about a month?
I was on a tight budget, but there was one person, Mr. T, who sent me a message.
Mr. T was not always watching my stories, but he was "just watching at that time.
We had been connected through various social networking services because we were both Christians, but we had never met.
However, I had been resonating with many of his messages for quite a while, so I thought, "This is the person I'm looking for. I was grateful for the opportunity to learn more about him.
And then, with a whirlwind of events, I was offered a room in a vacant apartment owned by a member of the church where Mr. T serves, and under very good terms.
I cried.
"Ask, and it shall be given you. And it shall be given you."
Even the doors opened by the generosity of the people were "Thy will be done." I believe this to be the case.
T., the owner of the room, and even people who do not have a specific faith, all said that about this trip.
I would like to conclude by saying that everything I had originally hoped for, or even more than that, was fulfilled through this trip.
However, travel is always accompanied by little troubles, and before the trip I hurt my shoulder, which I usually don't break, and caught a cold.
Nevertheless, I managed to reduce the pain in my shoulder and the PCR test was negative.
Good! And from Vienna via Frankfurt, the rest seemed to be going well.
However, the flight from Frankfurt was overbooked due to the busy season.
I was told that there was a possibility that I would not be able to board the next flight or the one tomorrow. Somehow, I managed to calm down and spent a fulfilling five-hour wait thinking about the "Passion and Resurrection of Jesus Christ.
I felt a sense of relief and triumph when I realized that I would be able to board the next plane.
The elderly Japanese tuna fisherman sitting next to me on the plane talked to me as long as I kept my eyes open without earphones.
He said, "When I fish, I think about the feelings of the fish. Imagine the personality of the fish you want to catch and what it needs...then you can catch it. It's the same as how you get what you want in life. It's fun! He said with a sunburned face on his way back from the expedition.
The line from the Whitney Houston movie, "Use your God-given talents correctly," which was on the in-flight entertainment lineup, resonated with me. It resonated with me deeply.
In the meantime, we arrived at Haneda Airport.
After receiving my checked baggage and SIM card and exchanging them for cash, I took the limousine bus to the station nearest the room.
Mr. T picked me up at the station by car.
The room, a retro room of about 8 tatami mats in an easily accessible urban area, was ready for me to start living with my family's belongings.
I was in survival mode, thinking I could sleep on a towel... Futon, rug, table, chair, laundry equipment... They had prepared everything from dishes to a stove.
It was a very comfortable space and I immediately felt at home.
The cheap Japanese bento I bought at the nearest supermarket for dinner, which cost less than 400 yen, was excellent, and I was told, "It's too cheap.
I don't know their faces or names, but I want to give a tip to everyone involved in making this bento. I thought from the bottom of my heart.
The first day was filled with joy and anticipation.
Today, tomorrow, and the day after will be absolutely wonderful. And at the end of it all, I am sure I will take home a wonderful experience and the key to the next door."
It had been a long time since I had such a positive and confident feeling in my heart.
In Tokyo, I hardly rested at all, meeting as many people as I could every day, and continuing to visit places of interest and connection, and the people I met connected me to other people.
I met old friends and acquaintances, famous actors, musical actresses, radio personalities, writers, book editors, music agency presidents, movie producers, people who were immersed in missionary activities while working in the office...etc., etc., etc. I had so many opportunities to meet and talk with people that I cannot even begin to describe.
Everything was happening at a speed that was at odds with my time in Europe.
This was clearly expressed in the speed at which people walked, the fashion, and the changes in the streets of Shibuya, Ikebukuro, and other areas.
I thought to myself, "Ah, this is what it was like to be in Tokyo every day."
It was nostalgic, lovely, and supremely enjoyable, but at the same time, there were moments when I was worried about the hurriedness and shrewdness of the city.
I also thought to myself, "I have to be especially firm in the midst of the busyness and glamor.
I must not lose sight of the original purpose..." while occasionally bracing myself.
I also noticed that after six years, I was being treated as an "adult" by people.
It made me feel a bit nervous, happy, and sad...and I also felt that I was no longer what is called a "young person" in Japan, especially in Tokyo. In Tokyo, even if they tolerate my individuality, if I don't act like an adult with Japanese civility and manners, I will become a person full of discomfort. I must be careful. I was made to think.
But I think it's a good thing that I am certified as an adult, so I can be relaxed in some areas.
I also realized that people unexpectedly find my experiences and life background interesting in ways that I did not have before.
In this way, I was able to confirm my current position in Tokyo, and I told a wide variety of people the truth about what was going on in my heart.
I asked questions to which I might not have been able to get honest answers in the past.
I wanted to know what I could do with passion and joy, even though I was over 30 years old and had left many things behind, including my life in Japan, and what I could do to be of service.
I also wanted to see how my long-suppressed sensibilities would respond to the various opinions and suggestions.
Finally, I decided to try again to express myself mainly through theater and writing in Japan.
In living for over a month, "I was led down that path, and I had an aptitude for it." I could feel it.
Because I was able to convince my partner, who had not shaken his head for a long time, as I reported daily events to him.
And, "The events in the past that made me lose confidence in the path, and the self-image that has stopped me, are not important for me now and in the future. Because the person I am now is not the same as the person I was then." It was a series of events that made me say, "The time has come.
I feel like the time has come, and I want to trust and work with the guidance of God and those who entrust me with my work now, instead of setting my own limits. I want to do my best and trust in God's guidance and those who entrust me with my work.
I was given the opportunity to perform a reading play in Tokyo this fall by a person I met through my former teacher, and I have already started reading the script.
I have already started reading the script, but before that, I will soon be filming a movie in London, so I am quite busy with translation work and preparing for the role....
There is joy in the midst of difficulty when one immerses oneself in what one believes to be one's mission and strives for it.
And both are roles and stories of hope that I feel I can lean on deeply because of the pain of the past six years.
I love the literary arts because they make me think about "people" and "life" on a larger scale and encourage me to see again that truth is truth.
I have been writing about this kind of writing for as long as I can remember, but I have only made a fraction of it public.
This time, however, I was also given the meaning and courage to express more openly the words that come from within me.
Immediately after returning to Japan, I asked Mr. Kinoshita, the art director and editor-in-chief of STAY SALTY, whom I had met and featured in a previous issue of "Notebook," through e-mail, "Please let me write a series of articles on this topic. He immediately agreed to do so.
I was very happy to hear that he readily agreed.
I believe that traveling is, to a greater or lesser degree, an impressive turning point in one's life.
When you leave your daily routine and receive a new wind, your life is enriched in unexpected ways.
Even troubles and difficulties can be looked back on with a harvest that we can say, "It was all because of that.
If I had not met Mr. T this time, I might not have been able to go to Japan yet, and if my salary had not been overdue, it would have been a completely different trip, and I would definitely be different from the person I am now.
I would like to write a series of articles like that here, without any embellishments.
